Falaniko Vitale has hundreds of reasons to fight on Saturday.

As in the hundreds of kids from West O'ahu who will benefit through Vitale's contributions.

Vitale will face California's Steve Renaud in the co-main event of the X-1 World Events mixed martial arts card at the Blaisdell Arena.

Vitale will donate his entire purse to the Central Pacific Youth Inc. West O'ahu Project. The goal is to build a facility in West O'ahu to give youths in the area a safe place to gather for after-school and weekend activities.

"It depends on the (attendance) gate, but hopefully I'll be able to give around $20,000," Vitale said. "It's for a good cause, and it's something I've wanted to do for a long time. There's a lot of kids on that side of the island who need a place like that to keep them off the streets and out of trouble."

Vitale, 33, grew up in Waipahu and now resides in 'Ewa.

Last week, he was a guest instructor at a free mixed martial arts clinic that drew around 300 youths at Ma'ili Beach Park.

"I was hoping there would be a big turnout, but when I saw all those kids, man, I was blown away," Vitale said. "It goes to show how much those kids want to learn. And we tell them, it's not just about sports. We try to teach them responsibilities, make sure they take care of their homework before anything else."

The Hawai'i-based X-1 organization is also donating to the cause.

X-1 promoter Mike Miller said the organization has spent more than $10,000 to help Vitale's project, and it will also donate a portion of the proceeds from Saturday's card.

"When I heard what Niko was doing, I wanted more people to know about it, so that he could get even more support," Miller said. "Niko is like a hero to a lot of kids here, so it's a great thing that he's doing."

Of course, there is also a fight to take care of in the ring.

Vitale is 22-7 and will be fighting for the first time since March.

"I'm kind of hungry just to fight," he said. "Anybody."

Renaud is 3-2, and his last fight was in July 2006.

"It's hard to prepare for these guys when you don't know who they are or what he fights like," Vitale said. "So I have to be ready for everything."

Renaud, 36, said his fights have been limited because he runs his own engineering-consulting firm.

"I was working 50 hours a week, and didn't have too much time for training," he said. "But the last four months, I've been working 10 hours a week so I could train for this fight."

Renaud said his background is in muay thai kickboxing, and he was once a coach for several top mixed martial arts fighters in California.

"Niko is definitely a better fighter than me on the ground," Renaud said. "So I'm going to try and stay on my feet. On paper, I know I'm the underdog. If we were at the horse races, I'd be 99 to 1. But anything can happen, and that's why I'm here."

Vitale recently signed a three-fight contract with the Elite XC organization, but he said the contract allows him to still pursue bouts with Hawai'i organizations.

In Saturday's other co-main event, Marcelo Tigre of Brazil will face Vernon "Tiger" White of California. Tigre is the X-1 champion in the 205-pound division, but this will not be a title bout.

There are also several intriguing bouts featuring Hawai'i fighters on the undercard, including Wesley "Cabbage" Correira vs. Deutsch Pu'u, and Mark Moreno vs. Ross Ebanez.

There is also a battle of twins, with Brandon Wolff taking on Bu Nahiwawa in one bout, and Brenton Wolff facing Shu Nahiwawa in the next bout.

There will also be an eight-man open weight tournament. The champion of the tournament will have to win three bouts on Saturday.

SCHEDULED BOUTS

185 pounds: Falaniko Vitale vs. Steve Renaud. 205: Marcelo Tigre vs. Vernon "Tiger" White. Heavyweight: Wesley "Cabbage" Correira vs. Deutsch Pu'u. 205: Augie Padeken vs. Tait Fletcher. 170: Brandon Wolff vs. Shu Nahiwawa. 170: Brenton Wolff vs. Bu Nahiwawa. 185: Brennan Kamaka vs. Rob Hesia. Eight-man tournament, quarterfinals: Cory Gifford vs. Michael Brightman; Robin Clark vs. Derek Thornton; Chris Bernard vs. Kimo Lani; Andre Shaolin vs. Maui Wolfgram.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.